Photo: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

The New York Times published a fascinating article today about a relatively unknown section of the Frick Museum (a good one, I might add) that has a century-old bowling alley! As you might imagine from something residing inside the Frick collection, the bowling alley is lavishly decorated.

Built in 1914 by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, the alley cost its owner, the steel tycoon Henry Clay Frick, $850 — a princely sum that did not include the set of custom balls. In a letter to Mr. Frick from Lee R. Johns, manager of Brunswick’s bowling department, it was flatly stated that the alley he had purchased was the finest “known to the alley builder’s art” and that the balls — an additional $100 — “are absolutely perfect and remain that way for years.”

Unfortunately, unless you’re somebody famous in the art world, it looks like you’ll never see the lanes in person as the entire room is off limits to the public. What a shame. But at least you can see a 360-degree panorama over at the NYT!!!